


Between Shots and Songs

by Eliad91



Category: RWBY
Genre: F/M, Rock and Roll
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-15
Updated: 2021-01-29
Packaged: 2021-03-13 06:42:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 11,884
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28774038
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Eliad91/pseuds/Eliad91
Summary: Look all Weiss wanted was a little break. Stress had been piling up, her dad was more of a problem than usual, and that incident with Ruby wasn't helping so she had earned this. Plus this drink was so tasty, almost as tasty as the guitarist in the band with his pulled back blonde hair, his toned muscles, and those deep blue eyes... HOLY CRAP WAS THAT JAUNE. [No Fall AU a white knight romance with a little bit of Bleiss flavoring.]
Relationships: Jaune Arc/Weiss Schnee
Comments: 5
Kudos: 22





	1. Chapter 1

**I OWN NOTHING** enjoy!!

  
  


6:00 a.m.: wake up, brush her teeth, get dressed.

6:15 a.m.: Five mile run, stretches, isometric strength training.

7:30 a.m.: Return to the dormitory, grab a shower, get dressed properly, style hair, wake teammates.

8:00 a.m.: Breakfast with team. Must be an option of fruit, egg whites, healthy grain and fiber blend (wheat toast, oatmeal, etc.), and a protein option including turkey, salmon, or lean trimmed ham. Make sure to study properly while eating and review the day’s itinerary with her team.

8:15 a.m.: Leave the cafeteria (her team may or may not be with her depending on the day and if they’ve finished eating.) go to first class which will start at 8:30 a.m. but it always pays to be early. Study materials covered the day before and read ahead on materials to be covered this day.

9:15 a.m.: Next class

10:15 a.m.: Next class

11:45 a.m.: Lunch with team

12:30 p.m.: Weapon maintenance and dust preparation followed by form training and sparring/semblance training (needed to gain a proper mastery over summoning) for roughly two hours.

2:30 p.m.: Lab practicals for dust engineering (three hour class) 

5:30 p.m.: Dinner (typically solo)

6:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.: Free time (this MUST consist of physical training, study, or homework. Allocate just enough social time for the sake of maintaining team cohesion).

9:30 p.m.: Brush teeth, change, bed. 

Repeat list. Every day. Without exception. This was how Weiss lived her life. Perfectly efficient. Perfectly poised. Perfectly in control. Everything. Just. Perfect. 

And it was driving her fut-nucking insane. Perfect. Perfect. Perf _ ect. Perfect. PERFECT. _ Weiss knew what was riding on her shoulders. She knew she needed to perform well and do the Schnee name proud. She knew she couldn’t give her father even a single opportunity or excuse to pull her out like he wanted to and bring her back to Atlas and under his thumb. She was  **_very_ ** well aware of all of this.

But the daily grind was driving her insane. Over a year of this perfectly perfect efficient schedule as she tried to make it through the day to day of her school life. Not even her showing in the Vytal Festival the previous year had won the man’s approval. Instead he kept asking why her teammate had gone ahead to battle Pyrrha instead of her, and why they had lost to Pyrrha anyway.

‘ _ Well golly-gee Jacques I don’t know. Maybe it’s the fact that Pyrrha is complete and utter bullshit in terms of skill and the one girl on our team who’s still completely effective without her weapon was the best bet against someone that could control metal.” _ Weiss snarled in her mind even as she kept her features schooled towards serene concentration as she performed routine maintenance on her weapon.

Myrtenaster, for all its outward simplicity, was incredibly intricate in its inner workings and needed much genuine care to make sure all the small parts were moving perfectly. Even a simple bit of buildup from grease or dust residue could cause a catastrophic jam at the worst possible time. Quickly, quietly, and with great care Weiss worked to clean out the dust buildup from the chambers and cleaned and oiled the actual mechanisms for her rapier when everything went wrong.

“Hey Weiss I brought you a- OHHH SNAP!” What actually happened to cause Ruby to trip Weiss would never find out. All she knew was that in an instant her hair, dress, and workspace were dyed purple as Ruby spilled grape soda all over her. 

An eerie calm filled Weiss as she took in the scene in front of her. Her favorite dress was ruined. The dust residue was mixing with the soda and grease build up to make a sticky sludge that gummed up the components of Myrtenaster instantly. It would take hours to get it cleaned properly. Hours she didn’t have. Hours that needed to be spent on studying. On training. On sparring. On homework. On little assignments to appease her father. 

Weiss needed to clear her head. She could handle this, she was a Schnee! As sure as her hair was white she would push through, get this handled, and maintain her schedule. Worst case scenario she would just miss out on a little sleep? Who actually needed sleep? With a shake of her head Weiss cleared her mind and set about handling the situation. Or that was the plan at least.

Weiss felt a wet slap against her cheek and side as she shook her head and looked down to see her beautiful, pristine white hair soaked through with the sticky soda and dyed a purplish red color. Weiss felt her mind go blank and her body began moving on autopilot. “I… I need to go.” Weiss said as she stood up and stepped passed her partner and leader Ruby Rose as the younger girl babbled an apology. 

Weiss moved in a daze as she made her way through the forge. The room was large with plenty of open space to accommodate the students and their various projects with tools both archaic and advanced, really the forge was one part traditional smithy and one part high tech machine shop. Weiss felt her feet tread her usual path from her regular table to the entrance but her eyes were glued to her now purple hair as she did her best to hold in a sniffle that she would  _ NOT _ indulge in. She was still a Schnee! She was strong! She was resolute! She was bouncing back and falling on her rear, hard, as she walked straight into someone due to her lack of attention.

“Whoa there cutie,” Weiss heard a familiar voice say as she sat on the floor and contemplated every life decision that brought her to this point. “You okay there? That seemed like a pretty rough fall- Weiss!?” 

Weiss turned and stared blankly up at Coco Adel, the fashionista staring down at her in some type of surprise, Weiss supposed, with her eyes visible over the ever present sunglasses that had slid down her nose. “What happened to you? Are you ok? I barely recognized you with the purple hair.” She barely recognized Weiss. A simple change of hair color was enough to make the heiress to the most powerful corporation in the world completely unrecognizable and unnoticeable to the point that a friend who had actively assisted Weiss in study group before had to look twice to tell that it was her. Without the white hair she wasn’t even recognized as a Schnee.

Something in Weiss snapped at the realization, she had no words to offer Coco other than a vague mention of Ruby and grape soda and she started walking. She walked out of the forge, her weapon forgotten behind her. She walked straight back to the dormitory not hearing any of the comments that may have been said about her state. She walked straight back to her empty room, stepped into the bathroom, and took a shower as she did her best to scour herself clean.

Weiss scrubbed furiously trying to get the purple liquid out of her hair as something between hysterical laughter and sobs bubbled up out of her. Snide comments from her father, supportive but strict comments from her sister, teammates that tried to be supportive but they just didn’t get it. Just how much work it took to be a Schnee, to be someone who  _ deserved _ to be Schnee. A name and standing that was proven pointless when something as simple as grape soda was able to wipe it all away and so she scrubbed and scrubbed and scrubbed to get the offending gunk out of her hair.

Eventually Weiss let herself sink down against the wall of the shower with one realization. ‘ _ Fuck me, I need a break.’ _

\--Between Shots and Songs--

After a longer soak in the warm water than she had, had in months Weiss got dressed and promptly headed to the airship docks and out to Vale. She wasn’t entirely sure what she was going to do or what her plans for the evening were but she did know that she needed time away from Beacon, away from her loving if overbearing team, and even away from being Weiss Schnee. Just for a little while at least.

She needed something, something to not be Weiss for a while. Something that was the complete antithesis of what it meant to be Weiss, to be a Schnee. Eventually she found her answer in a little thrift shop in downtown Vale. Black jeans, worn out red sneakers, and an oversized ratty tshirt referencing some band she had never heard of and the ensemble was complete. A high end beauty parlor found her a concealer that could hide her scar, red contacts to hide her pale blue eyes, and hair dye that would make her hair black as pitch and could be washed out immediately with no repercussions. 

It was perfect. Perfectly imperfect, and so it made for a perfect disguise. After all, if purple food dye could trick Coco actual hair dye and colored contacts should work perfectly when combined with her new outfit.

A hastily rented room at a rundown hotel to change and leave her clothes later and now Weiss was wandering the streets of Vale a whole new woman! No schedule, no one breathing down her neck, no expectations. Hell she could barely recognize herself in the mirror! It was wonderful! Only problem was she still had no idea what to do with the newly open time.

Oh maybe she could go eat something really fattening! Or maybe she could go see a dumb movie for once all by herself! No stuffy theaters and opera houses she would have to perform in the next week. A simple movie theater like the Arc boy had asked her to go to last year. Or maybe…

Weiss felt her train of thought trail off as she heard music come from one of the nearby buildings. Different from the operas and ballads that she had both grown up around and grown up singing, it had a heavy, almost violent beat to it that conveyed a sense not just of longing but desperation through every chord of the guitar and beat of the drum. Weiss followed the sound to a small, rundown looking bar that could only be described as a hole-in-the-wall. And then she was able to hear the words to the song.

_ I’m the new black! _

_ I’m opium to thee! _

_ Will do anything! _

_ For popularity! _

Weiss followed the sound into the bar and was met with a rowdy and raucous crowd as some did their best to chat over the noise while others sang along. Nearly everyone had food or drink in hand or was in the process of getting one. Weiss took in the ambience as she was bumped by someone’s shoulder and jostled to and fro. It was messy, it was chaotic, it was loud, crude, and the complete antithesis of everything Schnee.

_ Like me, like me! _

_ Won’t you like me!? _

_ I’m your freak of the week! _

_ Another freak of the week! _

It was absolutely beautiful to the stressed out and fed up Schnee. Exactly what she was looking for as she let her head bob along to the music. Was this what Ruby listened to? If so Weiss owed her partner an apology for calling it lowbrow without taking the time to appreciate it before, this was amazing!

The heady notes and husky, scratchy voice of the lead singer. The desperate need in the lyrics for recognition and fame and what they were willing to do to achieve it. The beat of the drum that resonated in her chest and through the rest of her body. The screech of strings as the guitarist teased a song out of his instrument that Weiss honestly didn’t realize you could get from a guitar. 

Speaking of the guitarist he was actually kinda cute in a boyish way compared to the harder look of his two bandmates. A button down shirt with a plaid pattern and the sleeves rolled up and blonde hair combed back that showed off his deep, deep blue eyes…… HOLY CRAP WAS THAT JAUNE!?

Weiss choked on air at the realization of just who she had been eyeing. It seemed that the extra training been paying off as she leaned in and watched the way his forearms and biceps flexed and pulled against the shirt as he played and every so often Weiss would see a vein pop against his well muscled forearm running up his sleeve before his arm moved a different direction and it would fade away before coming back. Weiss wasn’t exactly sure why it happened or what caused that effect but every time she saw that line pop she could feel her brain turn to mush and stomach do a somersault until it went away again.

_ Blow myself up for free! _

_ Break my neck in HD! _

_ I’m your freak of the week! _

_ I’m the ultimate high!  _

_ Stick around watch me die! _

_ Something to be remembered by! _

_ ‘I wouldn’t mind giving him something to remember me by…’ _ Even as the thought flashed through her mind Weiss reflexively flinched away from it. She couldn’t be into him! He was… He was… Jaune! He was Ruby’s goofy friend that had a crush on her! Sure he was kinda cute in that dorky, boyish way but he was scrawny  _ ‘not anymore’. _ He wasn’t very skilled  _ ‘didn’t he kick Dove’s ass in Goodwitch’s class last week?’ _ He wasn’t particularly talented at anything really  _ ‘that guitar though… SHUT UP ME!!’ _

Weiss groaned as her thoughts forced her to reexamine the young huntsman and take in his growth, sure he was good looking but he was still Jaune Arc. He was a dorky, lowborn boy from a common family and he wasn’t the kind of person the Weiss Schnee should be dating.  _ ‘Except you’re not Weiss right now are you?’ _

The stray thought brought Weiss to a pause. She  _ wasn’t _ Weiss right now. That was the whole point. To go out and be someone else for a while, maybe do something a little crazy while she was at it. So why not be crazy for once? Why not just talk to a cute boy without worrying about what her father or the tabloids would do or say? Why not go eat a greasy burger and fries? Why not go have a beer or something? She. Wasn’t. Weiss. She could finally take a break from perfection, even if it was just for a night.

As the band began to move into their next song Weiss waved wildly at the stage and pointed towards Jaune. A momentary bit of confusion as the drummer, who Weiss now realized was Russel Thrush (and wasn’t that a story for later?) pointed at himself while Weiss did her best to redirect him towards Jaune which led to a couple moments of Russel trying to get the attention of a distracted Jaune before finally throwing a drumstick at his head and pointing out the waving Weiss.

Weiss watched as Jaune’s brow furrowed in confusion as if he was trying to recognize or see if he remembered her from anywhere and Weiss did her best to charade her question to the blond guitarist. “You,” Weiss pointed at him while mouthing the word. “Meet me,” she mouthed while hooking a thumb towards her chest. “Here,” she mouthed as she gestured towards an empty table near her as she grabbed a seat. 

“Now?” She watched him slowly pantomime in her direction as he looked at her confused and Weiss felt her eyes roll back into her head half in amusement and the other half in exasperation. 

“No,” she shook her head. “After you finish.” She did her best to convey to someone who couldn’t hear her on the opposite side of a crowded room on stage.

“Really?” And Weiss had to fight the urge to giggle at the dumbfounded look on his face. Rather than take the time to slowly pantomime the words Weiss simply nodded her head with an impish smile spread across her face before, on a whim, blowing him a kiss to make her intentions clear. 

Weiss was rewarded with a massive blush that spread across Jaune’s face and up to his ears for her trouble and made no effort to hold back the giggles that erupted from her at the sight. With her first mission fulfilled Weiss quickly moved to accomplish her second one and looked around trying to catch the attention of a waitress.

“Can I help you sugar?” Oh! Speak of the Grimm and they shall appear. Weiss turned and was face to face with a grey and red apron before she craned her neck back and looked up, up, up to see the face of a dark skinned woman smiling down at her with faunus tusks on full display.

“Oh thank you, I was looking for a waitress.” Weiss said as she turned her body to face the tall woman more fully. “I was wondering if I could place an order if it isn’t too much trouble? Where are the menus?”

“Uh-huhhh…..” Weiss winced at the teasing tone as the woman looked down at her, the smile looking much more like a smirk now. “You haven’t been to a place like this before have you kid?”

“I absolutely have… not.” Weiss admitted weakly, “Is it that obvious?”

“You learn to recognize the signs,” The tall woman chuckled as she sat down opposite of Weiss and the heiress was able to take in a better view of her. Brown eyes in a tan face with choppy black hair cut close, she was taller than Weiss (which wasn’t exactly hard), and just at glance Weiss could tell that she had biceps that even Yang would be jealous of. 

“I wouldn’t worry about it though,” the waitress continued amiably as she seemed to give Weiss a once over. “There’s a first time for everything, yeah? So I’ll help you out this time but just so you know in the future the bartenders will only come out to bus a dirty table. You want food or a drink, you come to the bar to order it and carry it back to the table yourself. You’ve probably noticed but Ford’s isn’t exactly fine dining, and don’t expect any wine or champagne on the menu aside from what we keep for mixes.”

“Yes ma’am,” Weiss nodded sharply and was met with a laugh from the bartender. The confusion Weiss’ part must’ve shown plain across her face as the tall woman laughed. 

“None of that ma’am stuff kid. I ain’t near old enough for that yet, you can call me Fordie.” The faunus woman smiled down at Weiss once again, her face open and inviting. “Anyway I came to check up on you since you seemed confused and we don’t get new faces in here particularly often. What can I get for you?”

“Something greasy and unhealthy that tastes good and something with lots of alcohol in it that tastes good?” Weiss asked the now named Fordie awkwardly.

“Ha! I think I can figure something out that fits that description. Need to check your I.D. real quick first if you want something to drink though.” Oh. Shit. Her I.D.. Her I.D. that marked her as Weiss Schnee. The fairly famous and VERY rich Weiss Schnee.

“Seeeeee about that…” Weiss opened before Fordie cut her off.

“No I.D. no drink kid,” Fordie stated in a tone that left no room for argument. “I run this place completely above board.”

Swallowing the ball of fear and nervous tension that grew to fill her throat Weiss fished out her scroll. “Please don’t freak out or say anything?” Weiss begged, completely unashamed, as she showed the I.D. labeling her Weiss Schnee to the woman. “I just… I just really needed a break today.” Weiss whispered.

Weiss felt her stomach do flips as Fordie slowly inspected her scroll and not in the fun way that it had when she stared at Jaune’s arms earlier. The faunus woman looked at the scroll then back to Weiss slowly. She looked at the scroll again and then back to Weiss again scrutinizing every feature of her face. She looked back to the scroll again and after about three more cycles of the faunus woman’s big show of checking her I.D. Weiss was starting to get the feeling she was being put on. The grin that spread across Fordie’s face at Weiss’ look of consternation proved the heiress right as the faunus woman began snickering. 

“*Snrk* Sorry kid, couldn’t help it.” Fordie laughed as she handed Weiss’ scroll back to her and the heiress was most definitely not pouting because that would be both a sign of weakness and beneath her dignity. She simply frowned in what she was very sure was an imperious manner and did her best to ignore how the bartender/waitress just started laughing harder. 

“Seriously though, don’t worry about it.” Fordie wheezed as she wiped a tear from her eye. “I just needed to make sure you were legal. I really don’t care who you are when you’re not here as long as that person doesn’t drag trouble in with them. Got me?” And Weiss watched as the friendly woman’s face and voice turned dead serious as she looked the heiress in the eye. 

Weiss felt a shiver crawl up her back and nodded furiously towards the warthog bartender. Weiss didn’t know if she was ex-Fang, a retired huntress, or a really intense civilian but Weiss really didn’t want to be on this particular woman’s bad side.

“Ok then! I will officially welcome you to Ford’s then Ms. Kohle.” The woman grinned as the fake name for Weiss rolled off her tongue. “Lemme go see about getting your order ready.”

Weiss nodded in a daze as Fordie stepped away from the table and headed back behind the bar. That had been… intense for lack of a better word. The lady was plenty nice, just intense. She reminded Weiss just a little bit of Yang but maybe ten or so years older and less prone to puns. Also what was that name she had called Weiss? Kohle? Wasn’t that literally the old Atlesian word for coal? Why pick a name like that though? A strand of black hair fell into view and Weiss snorted in realization.  _ ‘Fair enough Ms. Fordie.’ _

Fifteen minutes later brought the woman in question back to Weiss’ table with a heaping plate of food and a glass of something green in hand. “Here ya go kid, comfort for a night out on the town.” Weiss listened to Fordie laugh as her eyes were glued to the plate that had been placed down in front of her. “An order of baked chili-cheese dogs with a side of seasoned wedges and to go with it a liquid marijuana. You can thank me later with a tip when you pay off your ticket.” That tall woman chortled as Weiss continued staring at the mountain of food. Three of the chili-cheese dogs in question and a tall pile of potato wedges rested on the plate.

Reaching out Weiss picked one up and took a bite. It was cheesy, it was savory, it was spicy, and it was so greasy that Weiss could actively feel her arteries clogging as she chewed, so basically it was heaven. A sip of the drink shocked Weiss as it was impressively sweet and fruity with none of the bitter aftertaste she had associated with alcohol before on the times she tried it.

For a while Weiss neglected to pay attention to anything but her meal as she basked in the ambience of the bar. The people mingling, the music playing, the salt and grease of the food being cut by the fruity sweetness of her drink, it was everything Weiss had wanted for this evening away from being Weiss Schnee. The final and best surprise hit when at the tail end of her second drink Weiss heard the sound of a chair scraping against the floor and turned to see Jaune Arc taking a seat.

“Hey,” The blonde huntsman opened awkwardly as he rubbed the back of his head.

“Hey yourself handsome,” Weiss purred as she turned towards him and felt the smile that had been present on her face since that first bite of dinner widen as the guitarist blushed from the praise.

“Do uhhh… do I know you from somewhere?” Jaune asked, still awkward as sin, while he continued to rub the back of his head. Weiss couldn’t bring herself to mind though as she saw the way the muscles in his arms glided and flexed as he repeated the motion and there was that one vein again. Weiss wasn’t sure what to call it when that happened or what caused it but what she did know was it had the ability to apparently turn a smart girl stupid.

“No!” Weiss chirped happily as she smiled up at him and took another sip of her drink, seriously though these things were amazing. She could finally understand Yang’s fixation on strawberry sunrises. “I am fairly new to the kingdom and taking in the sights as it were,” oh no, that sounded just a bit too proper. Weiss needed to adjust her speech patterns to make this work well, picture Yang, picture Yang. “Saw you though and I figured I wouldn’t mind getting to know you better though music man.”  _ ‘Perfect’  _ Weiss smiled as she teased the Arc boy and saw him swallow in a nervous reaction that she HOPED was a good sign. 

“Oh! Uhhhhhh………”

“Unless you don’t want to?” Weiss said in only barely feigned disappointment. She really had been looking forward to chatting with the boy away from Beacon and maybe being able to flirt a bit.

“No! Uhhhh… no. Heh-heh, sorry, I’d love to get to know you.” Jaune chuckled awkwardly as Weiss felt her smile split her face and she beamed at his agreement.

“Excellent! So tell me all about yourself music man!” Weiss cheered excitedly as she faced him and bounced in her seat. This day off was going perfectly! She needed to do this more often. It was like a uh… what had Yang called them? A cheat day! A cheat day from her regular schedule and being Weiss Schnee.

“Heh, Okay, So my name is Jaune actually. When I’m not playing here I’m a student at Beacon Academy and I’m studying to be a huntsman.” 

“Ohhh?” Weiss drawled as she leaned in closer to the blushing boy. “That explains the big muscles then. So what’s that like? Learning to protect us all from the big bad Grimm?”

“A lot of work mostly,” the blond boy chuckled as he rubbed the back of his head. “It’d probably help if I was better at it.”

“You must be competent at least,” Weiss began and winced internally as she defaulted back to that same formal way of talking. “I mean you made it in right? You have to be pretty impressive compared to a civilian.”

“Well…. I try my best,” The Arc boy admitted sheepishly as he rubbed the back of his head. Not an incorrect statement and he was perfectly competent now despite what he seemed to think or where he started. Points to him though, he hadn’t bothered trying to dress things up to make himself look better in front of a girl. Weiss could appreciate that kind of genuine honesty. She should probably go back to listening to what he was saying though. “Really it’s my team that’s amazing though! They’re all so amazing and they’ve genuinely helped me reach the level I’m at now. They’re pretty much the whole reason I’m still at Beacon.”

Weiss felt her teasing grin morph into something more genuine and a warm feeling filled her chest as she watched the way the blond guitarist’s face lit up and became more animated as he talked about his team. It was a good look for the young man. Weiss just wished he spent more time with his hair combed back like this so she could see his face and eyes better. Maybe if he got a shorter haircut? “-ou okay?”

“Hmm?” Weiss perked up even as she fought down a blush, she hadn’t meant to drift away like that. 

“I said, are you okay?” Jaune asked gently as he gave her a concerned look. “You zoned out there for a bit and you’ve kinda been jumping around in how you talk a bit too. No one’s forcing you to do this are they? Did you lose a bet and had to chat me up?”

“What!?” Weiss recoiled from the question. Where had that come from!? “No! I’m just nervous about making a good first impression. Is that something people actually do?” Weiss asked incredulously as she tried to smooth things over.

“Oh thank goodness, and honestly? Once or twice,” Jaune admitted and the heiress watched his body relax as he let loose a sigh of relief. “People do dumb stuff when they get drunk and pressure someone into chatting up one of the guys in the band is a popular one. Almost as popular as the guys trying to ask out Fordie, not that it ever works.” Jaune had finished with a conspiratorial tone and a wink.

Weiss was quickly deciding she liked this newer Jaune. He was… confident. Not in a braggadocious way but quiet and self assured instead. Like he was comfortable with who he was and who he was becoming. In that moment Weiss felt she might envy him for that just a little bit. But that was for later, for now there was a cute boy getting a second chance at a first impression. “Well that’s seriously messed up then. And no, like I said, I’m just nervous. I’d really like to make a good first impression for the big, handsome musician.” 

Weiss batted her eyes prettily at him and felt giggles bubble up from deep in her belly as Jaune chuckled a bit at her admission while his ears burned a hotter crimson from his blush. “Well you definitely have nothing to worry about,” the blonde huntsman assured with a smile that did weird things to her stomach and heart rate. “I wouldn’t still be here talking if I wasn’t interested. Plus Fordie vouches for you, says you’re good people.”

“Well I think you’re pretty good people so far too,” Weiss said with a grin and wink towards the taller boy. “And I’d love to keep finding out more about you. But…” Weiss trailed off as her scroll lit up with an alert letting her know she needed to leave soon if she wanted to make it back to Beacon at all tonight.

“I think that’s my cue to call it a night.” Weiss admitted with a tone of disappointment that honestly wasn’t faked at all. She honestly had had a really good night with Jaune Arc of all people. Who’da thunk?

Weiss was never sure if what happened next was a surge of boldness or simply just enough to drink to lower her inhibitions that tiny amount but before she stepped away from the table she lunged forward and graced the Arc with a quick peck on the cheek before pulling back and feeling her face heat up with a burn that she knew was an undeniable blush. Seeing the dumbfounded look on the knight’s face was worth it though and Weiss began giggling as he slowly reached up and began rubbing his cheek. “Something to remember me by,” she teased at his questioning look before standing up and making to leave Ford’s.

“Wait!” Weiss turned around to see Jaune calling out to her, still at the table and still rubbing his cheek without realizing it, it seemed. “Do you want to meet up again sometime? How can I get in touch with you?”

“Sure!” Weiss laughed back towards him. “And I’ll meet you here, just wait a while.” Weiss finished with a smirk as she continued on her way out.

“What’s your name?”

Weiss stopped at the door and turned back around to face him in the now quiet and mostly empty bar. The only other people there being his bandmates, Fordie, and a few stragglers. “You can call me Bleiss.”

“Bleiss Kohle.”

  
  


**AUTHOR’S NOTES**

**Hey guys! I’m back from my hiatus. Sorry I ended up taking an extra week but the break was much needed and between work and some news about my dad’s health I opted to take the extra bit of time as I’ve had a hard time getting back into the groove of writing. I hope you like my new story! A white knight romance with some rock and roll flavouring and a twist of Bleiss. Let me know if you like it, love it, or heck even hate it. I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas, New Years, Hanukkah, etc..(There’s a lot of holidays around this time. I’m sorry to those I know I missed lolol.)**

**Y’all can expect a chapter of Huntsman of the Digital Hazard up next week and alternating after that just like I did with When The Search Ends. Fair warning I’m on shift at work for the next ten days straight and it’s been rough catching that groove again where I could just sit and crank out a thousand words an hour after taking those weeks off but I’m gonna do my level best to keep up that weekly update schedule. I love you all and I hope you have a great day wherever you are. And remember, don’t forget to love each other!**


	2. Back in Black

**I OWN NOTHING**

**Hey everybody just wanna say thanks for all the reviews last chapter. I try to respond individually but FFn is being weird right now for some reason about that. So sending out a group thank you very much here. You’re all wonderful.**

  
  


Weiss groaned as she rolled over in bed. Her head was pounding. Why was her head pounding? She remembered Ruby spilling the grape soda all over her. She remembered deciding she needed a break and heading into the city. She remembered Ford’s and that delicious food and the drink that made her feel kinda floaty in a nice way after her third one. She remembered…. oh color she flirted with Jaune. She came onto Jaune! She  _ KISSED _ Jaune! On the cheek yeah but it was still a kiss!

At least he was looking kinda cute last night… NO! It was still  _ Jaune _ ! So what if she had had a wonderful night and it was the most relaxed she had felt in years and she really wanted to go back.... She really needed to stop convincing herself to do things. First things first though she needed to get up and go through her usual schedule. She needed to… why was the room bright? Why were birds chirping?

“Hey there Weiss-cream.” Oh Colors no. “So what had you rolling in so late last night? And sleeping in late on top of it! Why what would the neighbors think!? Are you actually Weiss or are you one of Blake’s clones in disguise?” Weiss just groaned and pulled her pillow over her head as she tried to drown out the teasing voice of her roommate. Maybe another hour and then she could wake up? She could pretend to be someone other than Weiss for a little while until her headaches, both literal and metaphorical, went away right? Heck she couldn’t see her hair color under the pillow, maybe she could pretend she was still Bleiss Kohle for a bi-

“WEISS!”

Oh for the love of Dust and Dreams WHY? It was at that moment, that Weiss was hit full force with overbearing love and affection rolling at the momentum of a freight train as her partner made her presence known.

“Weiss I’m soooo sorry I don’t even know what I tripped on and I didn’t mean to spill the soda on you and I’ll pay for the dress so please please please don’t hate me.” The younger girl was panicking and panicking meant she was babbling and babbling meant the flowery speedster was talking at speeds that Weiss could only just barely keep up with on a good day. This was not that. Or well it was pretty ok but there was so much work to be done and she wasn’t nearly awake enough and why the heck did she have a headache?

“ _ Yaaawwwwn _ You’re fine Ruby. It was a mistake and I’m fine now.” Weiss said as she acknowledged the futility of trying to go back to sleep and started picking herself up. “And don’t worry about the dress. I got in touch with the dry cleaners and they’re going to see if they can get the stains out. Now let me get up so I can work on Myrtenaster.”

“You… you’re not mad?” Ruby whispered and Weiss could see the blatantly dumbfounded look on her face. Which was totally uncalled for by the way, Weiss was absolutely levelheaded and reasonable and never once lost her temper and if she could get rid of this stupid headache and get up she would give that Ruby Rose a piece of her mind for thinking otherwise!

“No. I was mad  _ yesterday _ .” Weiss muttered through gritted teeth and most certainly did not pout because her wrath was something to be feared not found vaguely cute or humorous and Xiao-Long could stop laughing  _ ANY TIME NOW DAMMIT _ . “Today I need to make up for lost time from my schedule and work on Myrtenaster. Letting it sit in that gunk overnight probably hasn’t helped any.”

“Oh!” The annoyingly chipper reaper perked up as she stepped back from Weiss,  _ ‘Finally’ _ . “No need to worry about Myrtenaster! She’s good as new!”

“Hmm?” And to Weiss’ surprise, there on her desk was Myrtenaster in all its shining, sleek glory. It was brightly polished and as Weiss got up from her bed and picked up the weapon Weiss spun the cylinder and the weapon glided through her different dust types before settling on the one she wanted. It was very nearly better than new. 

“Ruby this is… thank you.” Weiss mumbled her gratitude to her partner. “How long did this take you? It should’ve been hours to get everything out and have it working properly.”

“*Pfft* No worries. It was my fault anyway and you hardly ever let me work with Myrtenaster. She’s actually really well put together and I like how you incorporated the dust mechanism.” Ruby responded with an easy smile and Weiss felt a small surge of shame at her previous anger and irritation toward her hyperactive leader. Never let it be said Ruby Rose didn’t always at least try to make it right when she messed up. Still, Weiss wasn’t given much in the way of time to brood when said teammate grabbed her by the arm and started pulling.

“Come on,” Ruby urged Weiss as she tugged the heiress’ arm. “Get dressed! We’re gonna go grab breakfast and then I had a couple more ideas I wanted to run by you for team attacks.” And with that, and a quickly changed not at all grumbling Weiss, they were off.

\--Between Shots and Songs--

Ruby hummed a happy tune as she pulled her partner out the door of the dorm and out towards the cafeteria. What she made certain Weiss didn’t see though was the narrowed eyes and disapproving look Ruby sent her sister. She had told Yang to lay off Weiss for a few days the night before when the Schnee heiress had stayed out late and wasn’t answering calls. Teasing and jokes at her expense was not laying off.

They all knew how much she’d been run ragged lately thanks to her father and the expectations she put on herself as well and the scene yesterday hadn’t been great. The dead look in her partner’s eyes after the spill had honestly scared Ruby. Weiss got loud, she got indignant, she got mad. What she didn’t do was go dead silent and wander off like a zombie. So if she found something to do to take a break and some time for herself the night before Ruby was all for it and she was at least able to make it up to her partner by caring for her weapon. Seriously though Myrtenaster was so pretty!

All the small intricate parts! The deceptively simple dust component! The smooth sweeping lines and refined etching! Like, Ember Celica was cool but it wasn’t particularly complicated. Yang could drag it through mud for three hours and it’d still fire just the same. Which was good! But it wasn’t really a complicated build aside from folding the full gauntlets down to bracelets when her sister wanted to put them away. 

Gambol shroud looked complicated at first glance but it really wasn’t compared to some weapons. Really the only part of it that was was the folding blade on Blake’s sword. Beyond that the sheath was a cleaver and there was an integrated pistol but the pistol was a stationary part. Really out of all the weapons in her team Myrtenaster was definitely the prettiest weapon after Crescent Rose and even it still paired in comparison to Mil-.

Ruby’s thought process was cut off as she felt a soft, warm pair of lips on her cheek and let out a surprised, “Yipe,” before turning to see the warm, gentle smile of her girlfriend. “P-Pyrrha! You can’t sneak up on me like that!” Ruby Rose certainly did not splutter as that would be unbecoming of a badass huntress in training and leader of the best team in Beacon, if she did say so herself.

“I’ve been trying to get your attention for the past minute Ruby,” Pyrrha laughed gently and Ruby did her best not to blush at the nod from Weiss confirming the gladiatrix’s statement while wrapping an arm around her girlfriend’s waist. “How are you two doing this morning?” Pyrrha asked with a laugh and a smile Ruby could hear as the taller girl wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

“We’re grabbing a late breakfast,” Ruby answered as she skipped along to match Pyrrha’s longer stride while they walked into the cafeteria where the rest of team JNPR was waiting for them. “After that I was gonna work on coming up with some new team maneuvers with Weiss for us all to practice. Aaaaand after that….. a certain someone promised me a night out on the town,” Ruby grinned up at her other partner. She had been looking forward to this night for weeks. 

Dinner at a high end Mistrali restaurant, the new zombie romance flick she had been wanting to see, and then after that they had managed to rent out an indoor airsoft arena that catered towards huntsmen and huntresses. Ruby had been against going all out for the anniversary at first but… it really was looking like it was gonna be a great night. She was just happy Pyrrha was letting her cover the movie tickets and snacks. What were they doing again? Oh yeah breakfast and her partner!

“Are you ok by the way Weiss?” Oh, Pyrrha was checking on Weiss. “I saw you leaving campus yesterday you seemed…. rough. Also Ruby told me about the grape soda.”

“I am perfectly fine,” Weiss said as she bit into a breakfast sandwich. Huh, Ruby had never seen her grab one before. Always said they were too greasy. Of course Ruby was of the opinion that if it was that bad for them they probably wouldn’t serve it at a huntress academy but that was neither here nor there. “Yesterday was a challenge but after a brief evening to decompress I’m ready to get back to work.”

Ohhh that was a problem, “You know Weiss, and I realize it might not be my business but, Pyrrha and I have been talking for a little while now and maybe it might be better for you to maybe dial it back a bit?” At the indignant look from her partner Ruby pushed forward before Weiss could cut in. “I’m not saying quit being a huntress or anything but you’ve obviously been pretty stressed lately and it hasn’t really seemed healthy. You’ve been running yourself ragged and yesterday just kind of proved the point.”

“Ruby you drenched me in grape soda yesterday.” Weiss deadpanned back and Ruby turned toward Pyrrha with a grimace. Maybe she would have better luck?

“Weiss, we’re not trying to bully you. We’re just worried about you. Even professional athletes still take cheat days and vacations. It’s important to have an outlet and time to decompress. You’re not doing yourself any favors with how hard you push yourself.”

“Mhmm,” Jaune piped up to Ruby’s surprise. The blonde had been sitting quietly off in his own little world for a while now. Nora had even been balancing different fruits on his head. “The effects of long term stress on the body can be really rough. Hair loss, premature aging, high blood pressure, heart issues, ulcers. You really do need to take better care of yourself. My sister Indigo did her thesis on it.”

“Look Jaune,” Weiss bit out angrily and Ruby reflexively flinched. Ohhh this wasn’t gonna be good. “If I wanted advice from the human equivalent of a bronze medal I’d go talk to team CRDL and I’ll thank you to mind your own business. I’m perfectly fine and I don’t need anyone, least of all  _ you _ thinking you have any business telling me what’s best for-!” As Weiss began to build into her rant the heiress was cut off by a jingling chime from her pocket. Ruby watched as she pulled it out and stared at the screen with a grimace. She knew that look, it was Weiss’ father calling.

“Look I have to take this. I’ll be back later ok Ruby? We’ll work on the team attack stuff, I promise, I just- I have to go.” And with that Weiss was off as Ruby frowned. That hadn’t gone as well as she would’ve hoped. She really didn’t need to be that harsh with Jaune in particular, turning though Ruby found her boy best friend still sitting with a peaceful look on his face and a small smile. Huh.

“What’s up with Jaune?” Ruby asked as she nudged Pyrrha with her elbow.

“Oh! Apparently he met someone at work last night,” The crimson haired gladiatrix responded. “She’s very nearly all he’s been able to talk about all day. According to Nora he’s been like that since he got home last night.”

“Ooohhhhhhh,” whispered as she leaned in. Jaune finally showing interest in someone other than Weiss after he stopped pursuing her last year? That was big.

\--Between Shots and Songs--

Weiss groaned as she hung up her phone. Just one day without Jacques breathing down her neck for some stupid reason or other, was that too much to ask for? She really thought it was either his hobby at this point or he was bored and had literally nothing better to do. Like why else would he call for updates three times a week?  _ ‘Yes Jacques I’m maintaining my image, no Jacques I will not give up my chance at inheriting, fuck off Jacques I’m not coming back to Atlas either.’ _

Ughhh this was why she needed that break. In all honesty her friends were right she just couldn’t let them know they were right if she wanted to keep Bleiss and the bar to herself. Although… she probably could’ve been nicer to Jaune in the moment. Much nicer. It was just he was there and she still had complicated feelings from the day before and the others were there and she still had that stupid headache at the time and…. yeah…. She was going to need to make it up to him somehow next time she saw him at the bar.

For now though it was time to make Bleiss a bit more real. The outfit and makeup she used at the time had worked but she needed something extra if she wanted to keep fooling someone she lived across the hall from. No matter how dense he was.

She needed help, is what she needed. Someone to help her build up a new wardrobe that fit Bleiss. Someone to help her figure out who Bleiss was and how to act a certain way without slipping like she had the previous night. Someone to help her find a good spot to find a burner scroll too so she could finally give her number to that boy. Someone to-

“Hey Weiss, feeling better?”

“Very much so, thank you Coco.” Weiss nodded politely as she went back to her musing. She needed someone to help her- wait…. 

“Coco!”

\--Between Shots and Songs--

“Okay. So let me get this straight. You decided you needed a break so you went out into the city and made a disguise to not be recognized and then ended up in a bar where the ‘lead guitarist with arms that can make a smart girl stupid’ ended up being the golden retriever that leads team JNPR and you decide to flirt with him?”

“Uh-huh.” Weiss confirmed with a nod of her head.

“Cool. So after that. This morning. Your teammates tell you to start taking time for yourself to relax and destress, a good idea by the way, and you tell them no even though you agree with them because you don’t want them to know you’ve already decided to do that exact thing for some reason and instead insult the boy that you’re interested in when he was trying to be helpful because you really want to keep the two lives separate to have something for yourself?”

“Yup,” Weiss said, popping her lips on the P.

“This might be the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard in real life.” Coco said as she looked down at the heiress over the rim of her sunglasses.

“So you’re not going to help me?” Weiss responded, and Coco could tell she was trying to guilt her into it with the way she carried herself and slumped her shoulders while she kicked the ground dejectedly. The Schnee really shouldn’t have bothered.

“Are you an idiot?” Coco asked the heiress incredulously and watched as the younger girl flinched back. “Of course I’m going to help you. This shit is hilarious. It’s like a real life sitcom or soap opera. Follow me kid, we’re gonna make it so your own mother wouldn’t even recognize you!” Coco cheered as she wrapped an arm around Weiss’ shoulders.

“As drunk as she always is she usually doesn’t recognize me anyway.” 

Ooohhhhh that was a mood dampener. Push through! “Alright so I need to get you in touch with my fake I.D. guy, my scroll gal, my clothing guy, my thrift shop clothing guy, my make up gal and we’ll work on your persona. Worst case scenario I got a guy who knows guys who can find us a guy to help you out with that.”

\--Between Shots and Songs--

A week later and Bleiss was back out on the streets. Everything was planned out perfectly to let her be perfectly imperfect. Coco had tutored her on the right attitude and how to be flirty and how to separate herself from Weiss Schnee and now with a proper wardrobe kept in a cheap apartment in the city and proper makeup her new disguise blew her old one out of the water and the old one already made it so people couldn’t tell she was actually Weiss Schnee.

Referring to herself as Bleiss in her own head was weird but Coco had said it would help keep her consistent when the disguise was on, apparently a technique like a method actor’s, and she couldn’t deny that it was working. She felt more like Bleiss now when she had the disguise on. She felt like, for just a moment, she could leave companies and scandals and Schnees behind her. And most importantly she could look forward to some fun and relaxation all to herself. Jaune had mentioned during lunch that he had work that evening and Weiss had a ready made excuse of an assignment from her father that required her to be out in Vale for a number of hours.

Not technically a lie when she told them she would be scouting out small businesses in the area that might be worth investing in. It was just that it was only the one small business and her father hadn’t ordered it at all. Really just a question of semantics, not really a lie at all, and she wasn’t lying about possibly investing in the business. In fact if the drinks and food stayed that good she planned to keep  _ ‘investing’ _ as much as she possibly could, especially if her music man was there.

Speaking of, as Bleiss made her way down the streets of Vale she began to hear the familiar sounds of music coming from Ford’s and felt her pace involuntarily quicken. So sue her, it had been a long week and she had been waiting for this! Bleiss stepped through the doors of the bar and it felt a smile pull across her face as she stepped through the open doors and was greeted by the familiar sights, sounds, and even smells of her new hideaway.

The lights were kept dim for ambience and the tables and chairs all had a feeling of being both well worn and well cared for. The walls were decorated and absolutely covered with photos Weiss had honestly never paid attention to before. Most of them featured the same two people, a man with ears like a warthog and a young girl with tusks who was obviously a younger Fordie. As Bleiss made her way to the bar she found herself scanning the photographs. Fordie on her father’s shoulders as he poured a beer from the tap, that same man with a massive axe across his shoulders as he grinned confidently, him older and looking frailer in body but with eyes still full of life as he grinned at the camera wearing a shirt that said ‘World’s Okay-est Huntsdad!’.

“And how are you doing this evening Ms. Kohle?” A sardonic voice called out and Weiss did her best not to jump. Turning she was greeted by the smirking face of Filia Fordite. 

“Do you have to do that!?” The heiress blustered as the Faunus woman’s smirk pulled into a grin causing her tusks to jut out that much more. 

“Have to? No. Did I want to? Absolutely.” She laughed at Weiss’ look of consternation as she slowly wiped down the counter. “Plus as long as I’m talking to you I can pretend I’m working while I wait for business to pick up.”

Taking a look Bleiss could admit the bar was pretty empty at the moment. There was one other bartender and maybe five other patrons? “Is it usually this empty around this time?”

“Depends on the day,” the faunus woman hedged as she leaned against the bar. “But yeah typically we get regulars and day drinkers around this time. Bars don’t really pick up ‘til after seven or eight in the evening usually. If it’s a club it could be later than that.”

“Huh,” Bleiss muttered absentmindedly as she took in the information. She hadn’t really thought of how time of day came into things before but it kind of made sense. “What are your profits like typically? How well does the bar actually do?”

“Well enough to keep the doors open and I can keep my employees paid well enough that they don’t quit and go somewhere else.” Fordie answered plainly, still maintaining that same genial air she usually had. Bleiss idly wondered if it was natural for the woman or a learned trait from working in the service industry so long. “I’m not gonna be opening a second location any time soon though if that’s what you’re wondering. Big money in the bar scene in this town comes from the students at Beacon and they tend to stick to the bigger, shinier clubs like Junior’s uptown.” 

“So your clientele is mostly locals?” Bleiss asked as she looked over the menu for the day’s drink specials, “Also what’s an ocean water?”

“You’ll like it if you enjoyed what I made you last week, very sweet and citrus-y.” Fordie responded as she began mixing the drink, talking all the while even as her hands poured ingredient after ingredient into the concoction. “And yeah pretty much. Mostly townies, the occasional student who either stumbles into the place like you, or the ones like lover boy down there who are friends with the employees.”

“Have you ever thought of giving the place a facelift or image change to bring in new clientele?" Bleiss questioned as she looked down to the end of the bar to see Cardin dressed down from his usual armor to a red shirt and brown leather jacket talking to a girl who looked suspiciously like a slightly younger version of Filia complete with tusks. That was… huh… it seemed people could change if they wanted to.

"Naw, not planning on it any time soon either." Fordie responded as she put a deep blue drink in front of Bleiss bringing the disguised huntress back to the conversation. "Ford's is gonna stay Ford's as long as it can if I have anything to day about it. Like I said we do well enough anyway."

"Fair enough, Fordie," Bleiss said as she sipped at the delightfully sweet drink.

"Why the sudden interest anyway? Your people looking to get into the bar industry now too?" Fordie asked Bleiss with a raised eyebrow and blatant curiosity.

"No, more small talk than anything else. '' Bleiss answered simply. "You're the only other person I really know here as Bleiss Kohle and I wanted to be polite."

"Well I appreciate it kiddo, but I think there's someone you'd rather chat with a bit more isn't there love girl?" Fordie snarked with a smirk and a knowing look in the heiress' direction as she jerked her head towards the stage.

Bleiss felt her cheeks burn red as she blushed at the accurate accusation. A glance towards the stage showed Jaune and his band leading into what she assumed was the tail end of a song as she awkwardly waved trying to catch her quarry’s attention. 

The wave succeeded in drawing the eye of Jaune Arc and Bleiss couldn’t help the butterflies flitting about in her stomach as he smiled back at her. A bright, happy, honest thing as he mouthed something in her direction, something along the lines of ‘Grab a table?’ as he gestured to their spot from the previous Friday and Bleiss nodded as they began the next song. And promptly choked on her drink when she actually heard the lyrics.

_ Last night a little dancer came dancing to my door _

_ Last night a little angel came pumping to my door _

_ She said come on baby, I’ve got a license for love _

_ And if it expires, pray help from above, because _

_ In the midnight hour, she cried more, more, more _

_ With a rebel yell she cried more, more, more _

_ In the midnight hour babe more, more, more _

_ With a rebel yell babe more, more, more _

Bleiss coughed and spluttered as she spat up the sweet blue drink before shooting a look to the stage to see a blushing Jaune, a grinning Russel, and their lead singer and bassist apparently none the wiser to what was actually going on.

“If it helps I think this is more about them teasing Jaune than you.” Fordie laughed as she offered Bleiss a napkin. “He doesn’t really flirt or talk to anyone ever so they’re probably taking advantage of the opportunity.” Bleiss almost felt her heart soften at the knowledge of the good natured ribbing. Then she heard the next verse.

_ She don’t like slavery, she won’t sit and beg _

_ But when I’m tired and lonely she sleeps in bed _

_ What sets you free and brought you to me, babe _

_ What sets you free, I need you here by me, because _

“I’ll get my revenge come sparring class on monday.” Bleiss vowed as she took the offered napkin and began drying off her shirt. 

“Ha! Fair enough,” Fordie laughed in response. “You gonna order anything to eat? The boys’re about to have their break in a minute as well before business picks up for the evening if you wanna see about grabbing dinner with him.”

“Sure!” Bleiss perked up at the advice offered from the bartender. “I’ll have whatever you recommend and then whatever Jaune usually orders as well!”

“Coming right up kid,” Fordie finished as she took Bleiss’ order to the grill.

Five minutes later and Bleiss was on her way to what she hoped would become her regular table with a drink in each hand and a plate of burgers and fries precariously balanced on each arm.

“Oh shit, let me help you with those!” Bleiss heard before she felt the plates being lifted up off her arms and looked up to see the tall frame of Jaune Arc standing behind her with a smile. Oh and he was wearing a t-shirt today and his arms were doing the thing again…… “Bleiss you ok?”

“Perfectly fine!” She yelped in response. She really needed to get that under control they were just arms! “So how are you today music man?” She quickly asked, covering up her embarrassment at being caught staring.

“Pretty good! Better for seeing you.” He responded and Weiss felt the butterflies from before turn into a mosh pit (thank you Coco for terminology tips) in her stomach. “Have you been settling in alright?”

“Yup!” Bleiss responded as she mentally reviewed her cover story. “Finally managed to settle in at an apartment. Don’t suppose you’d be interested in dropping by sometime?” Bleiss offered with a teasing lilt before biting her tongue in her tongue in panic at the sudden betrayal.  _ ‘Come over?!? On the second…. oh hell we aren’t even dating yet! What the shit me!??’ _

“Sure, did you need help moving in or something?” Came Jaune’s guileless response and Bleiss felt her shoulders sag in relief.  _ ‘Thank goodness the cute ones are dense.’ _

“Yeah, just a bit actually, but I wasn’t gonna ask you for help with that. I mean I don’t wanna take advantage or anything.” Bleiss offered, surprisingly honest in her statement she had been intending to at least get some cheap furnishing for her apartment out in the city. While it was frowned upon there weren’t any rules against students having residence out in the kingdom after their first year and if she was going to maintain this double life she needed a home for Bleiss where she could also change back to Weiss.

“It’s cool, I like helping honestly.” Jaune responded with a smile as he bit into his burger and Bleiss jumped on her chance to change the subject and learn more about the subject of her affections.

“Is that what made you decide to be a huntsman? Wanting to help people?” Bleiss asked as she took a sip of the ocean cean water Fordie made, which Jaune was apparently having the non-alcoholic version of. Holy crap how did she keep making booze taste like candy? Booze was supposed to be nasty and bitter, not something to have for dessert.

“Kinda?” Jaune answered awkwardly after he swallowed his bite. “I uhhh…. honestly it was a bit more selfish than that. I have a family legacy kinda? And I wanted to uphold it? Honor it? Something like that… it’s dumb…” The blonde knight trailed off with a blush as he looked down at his plate. Well Bleiss wouldn’t be having any of that thank you very much.

“Hey, it was obviously important to you if it made you want to be a huntsman. Tell me about it, I wanna know more about my music man.” She finished with a giggle and felt the mood of the table lift a bit as Jaune smiled back just a bit.

“Did you know my family has a history with Beacon going all the way back to the founding?”

“Nope, tell me more.” Bleiss continued with a surge of interest. She could appreciate wanting to uphold a family legacy and it sounded like his was older than the Schnee’s.

“My great- great- grandpa fought in the great war for the kingdom of Vale. After it was over he decided to help with the king’s project at the time for developing the huntsman academy and put his sword down to become a builder. After it was done being built he picked his sword back up to start training the first batch of students. Among them was his son, my great-grandfather, and when he graduated he passed his sword down to his son. If you ever get to see it, the statue in front of Beacon is actually of my great- grandpa and great- grandma.” Jaune paused to take a sip from his drink as Bleiss digested the new information about the boy in front of her.

“Anyway ever since then every generation of Arcs has produced great warriors and huntsmen, heroes really, I just… I want to make them proud. Make myself proud.” Jaune finished quietly and Bleiss felt a surge of sympathy for the knight. But why had he never talked about all of this before?  _ ‘Why did you never ask him before? Yes thank you me, that was very helpful. Asshole.’ _

“Hey, I get it.” Bleiss said as she patted his hand. “We all have people we want to be proud of us and things we feel we need to do. A family legacy isn’t anything to scoff at. So where did being the music man come from?”

“Oh! Well that kinda ties into my family legacy thing. My parents never actually wanted me to be a huntsman. The life was too dangerous and I was too small and sickly when I was younger and I’m the only boy and, well, they pushed me towards a bunch of different hobbies instead. The only one that I really took to was guitar though.” Bleiss eyed the blonde boy up and down as he took a breath and really only had one thing to say to that.

“Sickly?” She asked, disbelief clear in her voice with her eyebrow raised.

“Heh, puberty was kind to me and the training from my teammates helped out a bit I guess.” Jaune laughed awkwardly and Bleiss watched as he rubbed the back of his head in poorly hidden embarrassment before continuing his explanation.

“Anyway I got decent at playing the guitar and when I needed some extra money to help pay for tuition an acquaintance of mine put me in touch with our drummer Russel since they were looking for a guitarist and songwriter and things just kinda fell into place.” Jaune finished with a smile before returning to his meal.

“Very cool,” and it really was, Bleiss was plenty willing to acknowledge, though one particular detail stuck out in her mind. “Wait. You write the songs?”

“Hmm?” Jaune made a questioning sound with a mouth full of burger keeping him occupied before nodding and swallowing. “Yup, my other dream was to become a successful songwriter and hear someone playing one of my songs on the radio. I guess you could say this is me chasing both my dreams at once?”

“So that song you just got done playing was that…..?” Bleiss trailed off as Jaune blanched.

“W-What? No! That was a cover! I’m so sorry about that by the way. I didn’t expect Russel and Jason to do that, I’m so so sorry I….. Please tell me I’m not messing this up?” And Bleiss had to bite her tongue to hold in the giggles that threatened to erupt at the panicked look on the huntsman’s face. In that moment she understood perfectly why Coco had called Jaune a golden retriever before, he really was like a puppy.

“You’re fine Jaune. It was… a little unexpected but it was pretty easy to tell it wasn’t your idea when you were blushing harder than I was. Maybe you could play something you wrote for me sometime though?” Bleiss asked as she batted her eyes prettily at the flustered boy and realized she actually was growing more invested in the young man. 

“Yeah, definitely! It’s a date! Errr…. As long as you want it to be?” 

“It’s absolutely a date.” Bleiss smiled back with a nod. “Actually can you lend me your scroll real quick?”

“Hmm? Yeah what’s up?” Jaune asked even as he handed it over to her. Opening it Bleiss plugged the number of her second scroll, Bleiss’ scroll, into his.

“Here, call me sometime and we’ll figure something out. Fair warning though I can be slow about responding to texts sometimes.” Bleiss said as she handed it back to the taller boy.

“Awesome! Thanks Bleiss. I will definitely do that. Uh, I need to get back to work now but will you still be…?”

“I’ll hang around music man.” Bleiss giggled as she shooed him off and back to work. “We can hang out more after. Play something for me?”

“Definitely!” Jaune called back as made his way back onto the stage and after what seemed to be a brief conversation with his bandmates shot her a smile as they started to play again.

_ Back in black! _

_ I hit the sack! _

_ I’ve been too long, I’m glad to be back! _

  
  


**AUTHOR’S NOTES:**

**Hey all! Almost didn’t get this out in time. I hope you all enjoyed the chapter. Weiss has managed to establish her Bleiss persona and is pursuing her tall drink of whiskey. There’s definitely some weirdness as she’s balancing the two lives. Let’s see how it plays out.**

**So some general housekeeping now. The next upload will kick off volume 2 in Huntsman of the Digital Hazard. It should be next Friday I hope but I have less and less time to actually write all the time and I’ve also been having trouble getting back into the habit of writing after taking that month off so catching the groove again has been rough. I want to sincerely apologize for any delays in my schedule but please rest assured I am still working on stuff.**

**I hope you all have a wonderful day and don’t forget to love each other!**


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